Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 312: Attack on Pagan
Before the fight begins, gather intelligence in advance.

But you know what, the natural conditions in Bagan are pretty good.

Not only does it have a river that runs from north to south through its borders, but the land here is also suitable for both farming and grazing.

After hearing that the other side actually had cavalry, and in quite a few numbers.

Zhao Xin looked at the people on his side again.

Be reasonable!
Those with two legs definitely can't run faster than those with four legs.

of course!

With their current firepower, it’s actually not a big problem if they don’t have cavalry. Anyway, they can just snatch the horses from the enemy when the time comes!
The 29th year of Li Yuan.

Autumn.

After collecting all the information.

Zhao Xin then ordered the fourteen vassal states to send out troops and ships.

And let them send their prince to lead the team.

Each vassal state should provide 500 people.

This adds up to seven thousand people.

Then Zhao Xin would send out another 7,000 people.

Among them, five thousand were troops led by the chiefs of Srivijaya, and two thousand were the direct musket and artillery troops led by Zhao Xin himself.

That adds up to a total of 14,000 people.

In winter, November, when the weather turned cooler and the rainfall was minimal, the attack on Bagan was then launched.

in fact……

Pagan was willing to submit at first.

only……

When Zhao Xin's envoy asked them to pay tribute to him with 500 palace maids every year, the other party refused.

after all……

Although the country of Bagan can be considered barbaric to some extent, they still have some dignity.

It's okay to offer tribute money, but offering tribute of palace maids is a bit too much.

The key is to pay tribute of 500 every year.

How could they have so many palace maids?

Since we can't reach an agreement, let's fight.

At this time, the Pagan Dynasty had basically unified the entire central plains of Myanmar, and its national strength was quite strong.

But this is not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that the emperor of the Pagan Dynasty at that time was a military general.

It is said that he fought wars in the east and the west, in the south and the north, and had considerable strategy and bravery.

This would make Zhao Xin feel that the next battle might be a little difficult.

After all, he is still very popular among the people at this moment.

Late November.

After learning that Srivijaya was going to attack him, Pagan King Jiang Xitao organized an army of nearly 50,000 people to resist.

of course!

Although it is said to be an army of 50,000, in fact many of them are conscripted men. They were farmers a moment ago and now they are just soldiers.

but……

This is also a tradition in Southeast Asia. After all, who can really afford to support 50,000 soldiers without employment?

Even Zhao Xin can't afford to support him.

Everyone prepared some spears and made some wooden shields.

If conditions permit, I might bring a knife and a bow and arrow.

These are the ordinary soldiers of the Pagan Dynasty.

of course!

Although this is the case for most people, the king still has some elite troops.

The most elite among them were the 500 elephants, and there were countless war horses.

Anyway...

That's just a lot.

December.

Zhao Xin personally led the troops and landed directly from the Mon people’s hometown in the southernmost part of Bagan.

The musketeers led the charge, with the rest following.

The Pagan warriors had never fought such a battle before. They could only hold out for a short moment before they began to retreat.

The situation on the battlefield once made King Jiang Xituo anxious.

And this is still the result of Jiang Xituo's good military management.

After all the Srivijaya soldiers had landed on land.

Next…

There was a melee all over the mountains.

This battle gave Zhao Xin a headache.

The enemy's elephant soldiers were also frightened and would often charge into and trample on their own people.

King Jiang Xituo commanded the cavalry to attack Zhao Xin's headquarters directly.

But within a moment...

The enemy's cavalry fell off their horses one after another.

Zhao Xin, who is protected by the musket troops, can only be described as as steady as an old dog.

but……

Although Srivijaya had a great advantage, they had cavalry after all, while they did not.

Those with two legs definitely can't run faster than those with four legs.

After fighting for a long time...

King Jiang Xitao of Pagan ordered everyone to retreat.

If you can't win, retreat and slow down, and think of a solution.

In the battle just after landing, the Pagan Dynasty suffered a heavy loss, at least three to five thousand people.

of course!

Zhao Xin's situation is not much better.

After all, the land is too open and flat, and fighting is going on everywhere. In some places that do not receive fire support from musket troops, the number of casualties will be relatively large.

Zhao Xin's side...

The number of dead and injured was nearly a thousand.

After retreating to the mountains dozens of miles behind, Jiang Xituo also discussed countermeasures with the imperial teacher.

can only say……

It's not that you can't fight.

If we can lure the enemy deep into our territory and then use cavalry to cut off Srivijaya's retreat, there should be no problem.

After one night.

Zhao Xin ordered his men to dig trenches and build simple artillery positions at his base camp at the river mouth. From then on, only a small number of soldiers were needed to guard the road behind him.

then……

Others continued to march forward.

The hot air balloon was launched to detect the enemy's position in advance.

Mainly the position of the enemy cavalry.

The rest of the people rushed towards the opponent's base camp.

There’s nothing we can do about the villages we passed by!
Because these Meng people have a pretty good relationship with Jiang Xituo.

After all, Jiang Xituo seemed to have married their princess.

Therefore... only male prisoners could be taken. The women who were captured would be assigned to the soldiers if they were good-looking, and the ugly ones would be used to open up wasteland and cultivate the land.

What's more...

He brought so many people out this time. How should he reward the soldiers after the battle?

I can't go back empty-handed.

And when more than 10,000 people continued to attack, sure enough!

Jiang Xitao, a famous general of the Pagan Dynasty and now the emperor, immediately sent cavalry to attack from the rear.

Launch an attack on the Srivijaya soldiers from the flank.

Zhao Xin also told his subordinates not to panic in advance.

As the king of Srivijaya, he was not afraid.

Why are you panicking?

Just follow orders!
When the opponent's cavalry general came with his men, Zhao Xin directly ordered his men to snipe and kill the opponent's cavalry general.

The cavalry troops, which were originally so aggressive, immediately lost their initial fighting spirit when they saw that their leader was gone.

During this process, Zhao Xin also gradually gathered the opponent's horses.

only……

Still not enough.

At present, we have only collected about two or three hundred war horses.

Most of them fled after the enemy was defeated.

And there are actually not many people who can ride horses.

of course!

It's better to have something than nothing.

At least now, Zhao Xin has a horse to ride.

The next night.

The hot air balloon detected the opponent's position in advance.

That night.

Zhao Xin then sent out his own troops, mounted on horses, and together with two thousand three hundred Foqi soldiers, they attacked the enemy camp under the cover of night.

Although the other party also had certain defenses.

only……

Perhaps they did not expect them to come so resolutely. The two sides fought again, and Pagan suffered heavy casualties again.

Wait until this battle is over again.

Bagan finally realized the gap between them.

At this point, Bagan had no other ideas.

No matter how……

Consider defending the city first.

then……

Next, they gathered all the remaining soldiers and began to garrison the city.

Zhao Xin naturally sent people back to pull the artillery.

in fact……

Bagan has a border depth of hundreds of miles. If Jiang Xituo knew how to use this long depth to fight Zhao Xin, Zhao Xin would really be defeated.

But what a pity.

Jiang Xituo did not make good use of this.

of course!

In fact, maybe it’s not that Jiang Xituo didn’t make good use of this, but...

indeed!

If you don't defend some cities, won't the people in the city be killed by Zhao Xin?

They also have the responsibility to protect their own people.

Fourth day.

Jiang Xituo steadfastly defended the old city of the ancient Mon tribe, hoping to rely on the city to resist.

Since the city is located on the riverside and a moat has been dug, defense is indeed convenient.

While defending, Jiang Xituo still sent out cavalry to look for opportunities to fight from outside.

Be reasonable!
This was definitely the most tenacious resistance Zhao Xin had ever encountered.

of course!

This is also Zhao Xin's fault. The conditions you put forward are too harsh, so there is no possibility that others will agree to them. Naturally, the other party will resist very firmly.

But what else can Zhao Xin do?
after all……

He wanted to give his soldiers many descendants.

Early in the morning of the fifth day.

Zhao Xin asked the soldiers to set up the artillery.

Immediately afterwards...

At Zhao Xin's command, the siege began.

It has to be said that the cities in Southeast Asia are relatively easy to attack.

Because it rarely has that kind of suspension bridge.

Many of its bridges leading into the city are paved directly with bricks, so that’s just giving them away for free, and there’s no need to go to Zhao Xin to lay the bridge.

of course!

Some of the city walls are quite high and thick.

Some of the better city walls are almost two zhang high and more than ten zhang thick.

And they are all built with stones.

only……

Even so, it would not be difficult for Zhao Xin to win.

The first step was to set up a trap outside the moat and use muskets to shoot at the people on the other side of the city wall.

Immediately afterwards...

Just send out a suicide squad to attack them using ladders.

Put the soldiers in the Song Dynasty's infantry armor.

Suddenly, it can be like a mecha, killing gods if it encounters one, and killing Buddhas if it encounters one.

It is not to say that the Pagan Dynasty had no armor at all.

only……

Due to weather conditions, there is often no need to wear armor.

That is to say, some more important characters may wear some armor.

However, when the soldier saw that someone from Srivijaya was actually coming towards him wearing full armor, he suddenly lost his temper.

The main thing is that you can't stop this guy or chop him down.

After a short while, the Srivijaya soldiers wearing infantry armor attacked the city wall.

The soldiers in the city were also frightened.

King Jiang Xita wanted to participate in the battle personally to boost morale, but his ministers held him back.

After all, if Jiang Xita died here, the whole of Bagan would be in chaos.

Although the Pagan Dynasty is very powerful now, in fact, many of them are only nominal allegiances.

Once those forces that were originally conquered by Jiang Xituo learn that Jiang Xituo is dead, those countries will definitely become independent.

By the time……

The Pagan Dynasty may only have Pagan as its capital.

Anyway, this city now belongs to the Mon people, so they won’t feel sorry even if Srivijaya massacres all the Mon people.

The people in the city originally held out a glimmer of hope for Jiang Xituo, but unexpectedly, Jiang Xituo was the first to run away.

Zhao Xin didn't send anyone to chase after him, because it would be impossible to catch up.

Then...

Zhao Xin chased the lagging enemy troops while capturing the residents in the city.

This is at least nearly 10,000 people.

There are even some monks and local craftsmen.

Pack up all these people and take them away.

Finally... he looked at the King of Pagan who had already run away.

never mind!

Let’s retreat!
It’s not that Zhao Xin doesn’t want to destroy the other country.

It is really……

The opponent is too wise and knows how to cut off when necessary. Such an opponent is indeed a bit difficult to deal with.

and……

The straight-line distance between Bagan and them is at least nine hundred to one thousand miles.

Even if you walk, it will take you about a month to get there.

They had no cavalry, which was a great disadvantage.

after that……

Zhao Xin assigned people to go to some nearby villages to snatch people.

At last……

A lot of women were taken back with them.

The key point is that when returning, Zhao Xin will have to drift on the sea for almost twenty days.

Return to Srivijaya.

After that, rewards will be given according to merit.

The one with more injuries and deaths will be given more slaves.

As for good-looking women, they will of course be assigned to their soldiers first.

It depends on the situation!

If it’s good-looking and obedient, keep it. If it’s good-looking but disobedient, sell it to someone else as soon as possible and then exchange it for an obedient one.

Don’t let your own servants stab you in the back.

In fact, if you snatch something back directly, the hatred will often be concentrated on yourself.

This could easily lead to accidents.

Although the fourteen vassal states suffered heavy losses in this battle, it must be said that this was a very exciting fight.

Everyone wants to do it again.

Zhao Xin could only say that there would be another chance.

Then they killed chickens and sheep.

As for the Pagan Dynasty...

Although I felt relieved when I learned that Srivijaya had retreated.

But the current situation is still a bit not optimistic.

Who could have thought that Srivijaya would become so powerful.

The key is……

They actually have people from Central Plains to help them!
When did the people from the Central Plains start to get involved?

although……

The Dali Kingdom was right next to them. A long time ago, the Dali Kingdom had been occupied by the people from the Central Plains. This was something they had known about for a long time.

then……

The other side sent envoys to find the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Ask what is going on. If they are the people of the Song Dynasty, could you please stop them from attacking us?

We are willing to express our submission, so what?

By the time Zhao Zhe received the letter, it was already very late.

Then he replied: "I can't handle this matter. You should discuss it directly with the King of Srivijaya."

of course!

Afterwards, Zhao Zhe still wrote a private message to Zhao Xin, asking what was going on.

They have come to the capital to report you, father, and have massacred people there.

Zhao Xin also said, "Your father just hopes that they can submit to me. Since they don't intend to pay tribute to Srivijaya, they are equivalent to enemies."

There is nothing wrong with this answer.

(End of this chapter)